Analysis: Miss. gov budget sure to spark activism

In releasing his budget proposal last week, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour might've tapped into his own version of economic stimulus.Call it the Lobbyist Full Employment Act of 2010.Barbour announced a wide range of ideas that immediately made people mad, and it's a safe bet that interest groups will convert their pent-up anger into action once the Legislature convenes in January.He proposed merging the eight current universities into five, reducing the number of school districts from 152 to 100 and closing some mental health centers.He said the Mississippi School for the Arts should close shop in Brookhaven, move 200 miles north to Columbus and join the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science.The governor also said local school districts should tap into their own financial reserves to help pay some education expenses normally paid by the state, and teachers should forego their annual "step" raises that give them more money for increased years of experience.He said some smaller agencies should be absorbed by larger ones, and all agencies should see an average 12 percent budget reduction between the current fiscal year that ends June 30, and the new one that begins July 1.Barbour, a Republican, will begin his seventh year as governor in January. He can't seek re-election in 2011, and that might've given him the freedom to propose ideas that were, predictably, unpopular.He said tough times call for tough solutions.Mississippi's revenue collections have fallen short of expectations 14 months in a row, and experts say states' economic recoveries generally lag behind a national recovery.Barbour held a closed-door meeting with House and Senate leaders to explain his budget before he unveiled it at a news conference. He described the lawmakers' reaction as "subdued.""It's hard stuff in here," Barbour told journalists and state agency leaders. "But I think they understand, as I hope everybody who reads and watches this: We have to make the savings. OK? If you don't like it this way, come up with another way. Come

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